Friday Favorites starts with my Home Tour

February 17, 2017

This week has flown by, with kids getting out early and today being a day off from school. I have been kind of in a funk lately. I think we are all our worst critics, it really is sad. Lately I want to change everything in our house. Then I self reflect and think do I just feel that way because I am a designer/blogger who is exposed to too much? I went to someones house last week and oh man it was BEYOND cute. Like I would move right in and be happy. It was big, new, white, on the beach, lots of ship lap, lots of charm. It put me in a mood after seeing it. I finally snapped out of it- but it took me a day to move on. I realized those thoughts were not of God, we have a perfectly lovely home that is safe and warm from the freezing cold. We are blessed.

It is all about perspective. Love where you are now. So I told myself. Do you ever get like that?

With those thoughts I have some of my favorites and fun home decor ideas for some Friday fun and it all starts with a mini Home Tour…

Wayfair just shared my home over on their website, titled “House Tour: Step Inside This Cozy Cape.” They had interviewed me with some fun questions. You can catch the entire tour HERE.

THIS Instagram account is probably one of my favorites for design. I love that she uses color in the homes she designs. Not everything is cream. There is charm, character and a stop you dead in your tracks thing going on. Below is a kitchen she just posted. I love it all.

For Valentines my hubby got me THIS candle and it just make me happier to have it glowing in the corner of our kitchen. Not to mention it smells like a tropical vacation- coconut anything is for me.

I made my sweetheart THESE cookies or Valentines. I made them double the size and added walnuts (my new favorite add-in) and chocolate chips. He went out of town again so I put them in a big Tupperware and froze them for him to take on his work trip with him. He sent me the below picture the first night away saying he felt loved with the cookies and the little heart Ella made for him.

I am really wanting one of THESE floor lamps. I first saw them in Inspired By Charms Home Tour. I loved how he used his to replace his chandelier. I am trying to decide between THIS one and THIS one for my front room, we could use some more lighting.

I have wanted to paint my piano again for some time now. I think I am going to do it! I have a can of white chalk paint just waiting to be used. So I think I will go for it this weekend and share it soon. What do you think?

We are always trying to find the best ways to keep our tiny home organized. And baskets seem to do the trick. I just got this darling handmade basket from Prairie St. Mercantile. I love it so much and the lid is perfect to hide all of Finn’s toys. (It is from the same Etsy shop that my girls baskets are from in their room HERE).

I have actually been getting rid of a lot of things. I started to just do one room a day- just set a timer for 30 minutes and look at it with fresh eyes. THIS was a good article of things to get rid of. I thought I was getting rid of things- but now I need to dig deeper!

Make sure to subscribe to my blog below- I will be sharing next week what I made and froze for dinners for the entire week in just a few hours. It has been a game changer in our home.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend!

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Comments

You have made a beautiful home for your family from the outside to the inside and have proved that bigger is not better! Your kitchen is my favorite and then the girls room! Thanks for sharing your recipes., too . Enjoy your weekend!

I really enjoyed this post today.
You have a doll house. Love it. We raised 3 kids in a small house. No McMansion for us.
I thought Inspired by Charms had a brilliant idea to replace the chandy with that light, gives me inspiration to do that in our dining room , too. I have wanted to convert it into a mini Library , since the room is only used twice a year .

Please. I am constantly comparing my home to those of “the popular” kids online.
It seems that everyone on Facebook has more fun + goes cooler places than we do.
Buzz kill, right?
Intellectually, I know it’s wrong, but emotionally, I still get sucked down that hole, a lot.
I fight it with a good move-around + clean of our house, or flowers from the grocery store!
This a.m. I am feeling good about myself for (finally) hemming the curtains I sewed last Fall.

Agreed! It’s so easy to get ‘caught up.’ Bigger houses, more money, etc. And then I put on the news and see the war torn countries and bring it back to reality!

I’m not sure if you remember me, I live in a small home (now 1584 sq ft. as we just did a mudroom addition and blew out our dining room) in a coastal MA town and grew up in Bethel). All of my friends have 3000+ sq. ft homes, make 4x the amount of money we do and travel all the time! I try not to feel down but I do and like you, realize we are healthy and have a home!

Hello! thank you for saying hi! It is hard to not compare and think oh man I would totally like what they have going on. But if I never saw those homes or what they were doing would I be totally happy? YES! I am and need to remember that too!

This may be one of my favorite posts to date. I absolutely adore your blog and you have given me so much inspiration. Your kitchen is probably my favorite place in all blogland. I always see your home and think she has it totally together, it looks beautiful, homey, she knows what she likes, etc. Meanwhile I often am second guessing my home and design choices by what I see on popular blogs and instagram accounts. Which of course is not a fun way to view your home. It’s nice to know we can all fall prey to it. Thank you for sharing!

YES! I totally can fall prey to it. And it is not good. I think “why do I even have this blue sofa? Everyone has a light white one” But I like it and that is all that should matter.
Thank for your sweet words and sharing that I am not alone either!

When I was younger I always wanted and dreamed about having that big house beautifully furnished. It never happened because we were saving to send our son to college and put money back for retirement and saving for a rainy day. The older I get a big house doesn’t seem all that important anymore. As we age our priorities change. I love your home. I think you have done a beautiful job making it feel like home to your family. I think that at some point in our lives we all wish for big homes, beautiful furniture and nice big cars but sometimes the best things in life are right in front of us.

Brooke,
I just found your blog for the first time and must tell you how much I LOVE your home!! You have done a truly amazing job and one of my favorite features of your home is that darling window seat. I grew up in a Cape similar to yours (except it had front dormer windows) and my husband and I built a cottage style Cape 25 years ago and have lived there since.

I think its just human nature for all of us at times to compare and want what we don’t have. For someone who is a design blogger such as yourself, I think its even more difficult so try not to be so hard on yourself.

From one CT girl (I grew up in Wilton, live in Canton and know people in Fairfield), to another – your home is so cute. What a fun place for your kids to grow up. Quick question – I noticed on Wayfair’s tour, the bicycle print in your family room (?). Can you share where you found that?

Would you mind sharing the source for the bedding on the girl’s beds. I think I recognize the ikea blue strip, but I also love the bolder stripe spread and pink pillows. I love coming to your blog for inspiration!

Oh how I needed to read this today! I love our house, I love the way it’s decorated (that has taken time, as it always does), but I also love to move things/rearrange things. I just did this yesterday (me + paid holidays= no good!! 😉 ) But then what happens? I move things, I like it….almost. ONE thing will be wrong, not work and I am ready to head out and buy a new table/accent chair/ottoman tray….you name it. I put everything back the way it was today and said enough! It was stressing me out thinking I would have to run out and buy something tomorrow so that my rearranging could work. Ridiculous. Thank you for this post.

I just found your blog through a Pinterest pin and it’s absolutely gorgeous! My kids were raised in rentals and I hated that my ex-H and I never provided a solid, consistent home for them…so at that time, yes, I was constantly feeling down that we never had a home of our “own” and all my friends did. As much as I did my best to pretty up our rentals, I always yearned for a home of my own! I’m 48 and re-married now and we just purchased a home 6 months ago, I am over the moon with joy! It’s just a small townhouse but I wake up every morning giddy with happiness that it’s OURS and I can make it how I want:) You have given me so much inspiration here, small homes are so much cosier and more charming anyway:)

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Welcome

I have always loved Nesting. It became more rewarding when I started preparing the nest for my Ella Grace and Lola Faith. I design around things that have a story and mix in funky trendy pieces. I am a Utah native, Connecticut transplant with 17 years experience at a design firm in Utah in designing, managing and as head store buyer. I love Kevin, Ella and Lola, to get my heart rate up in any sort of group setting, eating simple and clean or just give me a sweet potato and I am happy.
Contact me about working togethernestingwithgrace@gmail.com.